Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Do You Really Think He Approached You With Pure Intentions?
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***
The two left the café.
Soon, they were bidding each other farewell.
“Han Cheon-seong. We can… meet again on Saturday, right?”
Karite asked cautiously as she turned, and Cheon-seong offered a faint smile.
“I made a promise. Of course, we can.”
His answer put Karite at ease once more.
The fact that today wasn’t the end, that she could see him again like this on Saturday, meant a great deal to her.
“Okay. Then… thank you so much for today.”
“No, thank you. I should get going now. Be careful on your way back, Karite.”
Karite gave a silent nod, and the two naturally went their separate ways.
While Han Cheon-seong headed for the training grounds even as the sun began to set, Karite walked toward her dormitory.
She was heading to her dorm out of a subconscious need for sleep, but in truth, her mind had been adrift for some time.
She had gone through so many emotional shifts while talking with Han Cheon-seong, and she hadn’t yet properly sorted through them.
*Tap.*
Before long, Karite stopped in her tracks.
The auditory hallucinations, which had been silent just a moment ago, seemed to be ringing in her ears again.
-Do you really think Han Cheon-seong approached you with pure intentions?
-It’s obvious he’s just after your body.
-He probably came on to you because you seem easier than the other girls.
A hollow laugh escaped her lips at the malicious voices.
The void left by Han Cheon-seong’s absence felt immense, and her heart wavered again in the face of these unusually vicious hallucinations.
‘Are these really just hallucinations caused by my own mental issues…?’
Am I really entertaining such worst-case scenarios? I couldn’t even believe myself.
Throughout our conversation just now, I hadn’t sensed any ulterior motives from Han Cheon-seong. It felt like he genuinely cared for me. And I simply… enjoyed the warm kindness and goodwill I hadn’t felt in a long time.
That there was still someone willing to approach me.
And the fact that someone was trying to care for me like this—I was just grateful.
As for Han Cheon-seong’s reasons for approaching me… I hadn’t even suspected anything.
Because I wanted to believe.
To believe that people like Han Cheon-seong could exist in this world. Now, as I endured day by day, just trying to live.
I had hoped for someone who could understand me, someone I could lean on.
And now, such a person had actually appeared.
But.
“…Did he really have no ulterior motive?”
Now that we had parted and anxiety had crept into my heart, a small seed of doubt began to sprout.
-He’s just using you to get to the Esildereun family.
-Or maybe he’s just after your body.
-What’s so great about you that he’d approach you like that?
-Even your own family turned their backs on you. You think a guy you just met today has no hidden agenda?
-How much more hurt are you willing to take, trusting someone so easily?
The ringing in my ears grew louder.
“……”
Amidst the malice-filled voices, I… couldn’t bring myself to deny their words.
*Tap.*
As I started walking again, the lightness I had felt in my heart grew heavy and sank once more.
And suspicion settled over it like a shroud.
‘Why did Han Cheon-seong approach me?’
He had no reason to care so much for me, someone he had just met today.
If he had simply passed me by or tried to avoid me like the other students, that would have been… normal.
Or perhaps… he had approached me out of a fleeting emotion like pity or sympathy.
“…Don’t think about it.”
I bit my lip hard and shook my head fiercely.
My heart was continuously being consumed by anxiety. But I didn’t want that.
At least for today, I didn’t want to resign myself to this.
“I want… to believe.”
I didn’t care if believing this now would lead to greater pain later. Even if… Han Cheon-seong had approached me with other intentions, it was fine.
Because I wanted to believe, at least for today when he approached me. I wanted to believe that his words came from the heart, that he truly said them for my sake.
He had told me again and again, in a voice that was both lighthearted and serious.
He had told me with conviction that I could do it, that I could move forward, so I shouldn’t give up.
Even if all of that… couldn't be said to be entirely without purpose.
Right now, I wanted to believe.
“…”
Biting my lip until it hurt, I steeled my heart.
…
And so, even while feeling anxious and restless, Karite repeatedly recalled Han Cheon-seong’s words.
—Don’t give up.
—Karite, you’re more than capable.
And then, Karite—without her even realizing it—her deeply sunken heart began to change.
Little by little.
***
The next morning, Thursday.
Cheon-seong was getting ready for the academy, just like any other day.
He showered and changed into his student uniform.
A more diligent student might have left early to eat breakfast at the student cafeteria, but torn between the temptation of sleep and the need to save money, Cheon-seong skipped his morning meal.
“…Hah.”
A yawn escaped through his dazed consciousness.
Sometimes, he didn’t quite feel how the day passed.
Like today.
He would close his eyes and open them to find it was the next day, another morning of putting on his uniform to head to the academy.
Why did time fly so fast? The thought even crossed his mind.
“…Is it because I’m training too much?”
The words slipped out for no reason.
After talking with Karite, I had been plagued by various thoughts.
Since a person’s life was at stake, I couldn’t help but think about it more seriously.
Was there anything more I could do to help her? Was there something I was overlooking? I had pondered it several times, but there wasn't much I could do.
All I could offer was to meet her like yesterday whenever she wanted and help her feel at ease.
In the end, I pushed the thoughts away by focusing on my training.
Just thinking about what I needed to do right now was overwhelming enough.
*Slide.*
The weight of the iron spear on my back brought a strange sense of stability.
“I’ve really become a spearman.”
I chuckled, but this new me now felt natural.
*Click.*
As I opened the door and left the dormitory, I saw several other students also heading out.
‘David usually comes out around this time.’
And soon enough, I found him.
His messy orange hair, his face still clouded with sleep as he yawned.
Then his eyes met mine, and he cracked a smile.
“What’s this, Han Cheon-seong? You decided to start leaving at this time now?”
As David strode over, I naturally matched his pace.
“Yeah. Figured it’s better to get up early.”
“Good thinking.”
“Have to be up early to focus on Instructor Kalli’s lecture, right?”
“…Top students really do think differently.”
“What do you mean, top student….”
As we exchanged idle chatter, David suddenly gave me a strange look.
Just as I was wondering what was up with his gaze…
“Han Cheon-seong. Heard you caused another scene yesterday?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Well, I stopped by the café last night, and the students were talking about you again.”
David’s unexpected words made me blink blankly.
As eventful as my days were, I didn’t think I had done anything noteworthy yesterday.
‘I just…’
I talked with Karite at the café, trained at the training grounds, and went back to my dorm to sleep.
My entire day could be summarized in a single, simple sentence.
“Anyway, Han Cheon-seong, I knew it from the day of the entrance ceremony.”
“Knew what, all of a sudden?”
“That you’re a womanizer.”
As David said it with a grin, I finally realized he was talking about Karite.
For a moment, it was so absurd that a hollow laugh escaped me.
“David. I think you’re misunderstanding again. It’s not like that at all.”
“It’s not?”
“Yeah. You’re talking about Karite right now, aren’t you?”
I said it preemptively, and David looked at me as if he found it fascinating.
“Look at how naturally you say her name. Han Cheon-seong, be honest. You ditched helping me with my training yesterday. Is it really not what I think it is?”
David asked slyly, and I immediately shook my head.
“It’s really not like that. I genuinely approached Karite with pure intentions just to talk for a bit.”
“Pure intentions, really… Hmm. To me, it just looks like you were making another move.”
I chuckled at his persistent teasing.
It was true that I liked women.
After all, this world was filled with beauties you’d be hard-pressed to find in reality, and they were right in front of me. It was an environment where it was impossible not to be interested.
But at the very least, I knew how to distinguish the time and place.
When it was okay to have such feelings, and when it wasn’t.
And Karite was firmly in the latter category.
Whether she was pretty or charming didn’t matter; when it came to her, I had zero personal interest.
“Hah. I wish it were like you said, David, that I was just trying to hit on Karite.”
“Huh?”
“No, it’s just something. Anyway, it’s not what you think.”
As I trailed off, a thought crossed my mind.
‘Really…’
It would have been so much better if I had approached Karite with such a lighthearted motive.
But right now, I had to prepare for a crisis coming next week, something I couldn’t tell anyone about.
If Karite’s life wasn’t on the line… I wouldn’t have to invest my own precious time at such a crucial period, but as it was, I planned to give almost all of my training time to her.
“Well, I don’t know what happened, but seeing your face now, I guess you weren’t trying to make a move.”
“I told you, it really wasn’t like that.”
“…No, it’s just that there are so many rumors about you among the other students.”
David’s next words made me pause.
“What kind of rumors… are going around about me?”
“Just that… you try to make a move on every girl you meet, that you’re trying to seduce them? The thing with Luna was cleared up as a misunderstanding, but besides her, there’s Glacia, and it seems like every incident you’re involved in has a woman in it.”
A chill ran down my spine.
I could handle rumors spreading among the students.
I could just dismiss them as nonsense and move on.
But.
*Gulp.* I swallowed, my thoughts involuntarily turning to Kalli.
I had just managed to clear up the misunderstanding with Glacia and improve my relationship with Kalli.
‘If I keep getting involved with women day after day…’
Could she possibly see me in a good light? My head began to throb without me realizing it.
I was already worried about how cold her gaze would be when I saw her today.